Amber McBride and Veronica Alexander are quick to testify that SVdP Indy’s Changing Lives Forever (CLF) program lives up to its name.
For both of these women, the experience of being part of the CLF community at St. Lawrence has been life-changing. They recently graduated from CLF and have a renewed purpose in life, both working toward goals that will not only improve their lives, but the lives of those around them.
Amber
Before getting involved with CLF, Amber says she was really struggling and felt a little stuck. She and her family are living with someone else and were having trouble getting ahead.
Now, because of what she learned in CLF—about herself and the world around her—she feels like life is getting back on track. She has set a goal for her and her family to find a place of their own. She’s working toward it and has hope in reaching that goal.
But Amber’s not just focused on her immediate circle. She’s devoted to helping others.
“I love people, love kids and have always had a heart to help others,” she shares. “I just want to be a good person and get involved in the community.”
And she’s an ambassador for CLF and hopes others will benefit from it: “I’d encourage others to participate in CLF,” she says. “It will change you in more ways than one—change your life, your family’s and those around you.”
Veronica
“I’d lost everything, and called St. Vincent de Paul for help,” says Veronica.
During the home visit, one SVdP Indy volunteer gave her a brochure for CLF. Veronica was immediately interested—and feels it was a God-ordained moment.
“It changed my life, and I thank God for bringing me to it,” she says.
Thanks to “Grandma Sheila” Sterrett, Tim Reno and others involved with CLF, Veronica says she was encouraged, prayed for, and taught things she didn’t previously know.
She’s striving to get out of poverty, avoid people who don’t value her, and set goals. Some goals, she says, are small—like following through on something she said she’d do. And others are larger like her dream to open a domestic violence organization that provides transitional housing for women leaving abusive relationships. Big or small, she now has the confidence to go after these goals because of the confidence she gained through CLF.
“I keep my goals in front of me,” she says, “and remind myself that, with God, all things are possible.”
